Organic Agricultural Production
Organic Agricultural Production is a system of production of agricultural products and foodstuffs which places special emphasis on the use of products as natural as possible, excluding those that potentially could negatively affect final product quality or the environment of the collection.
This system includes all activities of production, processing, handling and marketing of such products, both plant and animal origin.
The application of this system in producing agricultural and food implies that all the companies involved have to meet European regulations, and subject to monitoring and certification by a number of bodies, for thus able to provide adequate assurance to consumers.
General objectives of organic Agriculture
- Ensuring a high level of fertility of soils, as the foundation of good health and a high production of crops, thus avoiding the proliferation of pests and diseases. To get this look for work in fertility is a closed system in terms of organic matter and nutrients, recycling those materials and byproducts generated by the activity itself.
- Maximum use of renewable resources in locally organized agricultural systems, looking for a high level of self-sufficiency in raw materials.
- Providing crops and livestock production and living conditions that they can carry out a development as natural and innate, provided in some rational criteria of profitability end of productive activities.
- Integrating agricultural activities with livestock, to achieve a more rational and diversification. This will be the alternative crop improvement through the introduction of forage species and legumes, can also take advantage of marginalized areas, and enable a better fertilization due to the varied collection of organic waste.
- Maintaining an acceptable level of diversity of cultivated species and bred to each company, looking for those that are more adapted to local conditions.
- Avoiding all forms of pollution, or loss of quality, which may result from the techniques used during the production, processing and handling of food products obtained.
- In general, the development and empowerment of all the mechanisms and natural balance of agricultural systems, which should work in favor of the farmer and rancher, and not against them.
Conversion to organic agriculture
Whether starts again, as if you switch to the production method of organic agriculure, there will be a period, called conversion period, which will have to perform any actions necessary for transforming an agricultural estate to these production systems. These acts may be varied depending on each case, may include the establishment of appropriate rotations, fertilizer inputs in respect of levels of soil organic matter, regulation of plant populations are adventitious building terraces, planting fences, etc. During this period using the following criteria:
- Its length depends on the type of alternative crops or followed, as well as the intensity, nature and proximity in time of the use of pesticides and agrochemicals, as well as all those techniques that have been causing waste problems, or serious imbalances in agricultural systems to convert.
- During this period there are accepted practices in transition between conventional and organic agriculture, so as not to cause a sharp break which could harm the economic performance of the property.
- During this period, the products still cannot be considered as coming from organic agriculture, for trade purposes, but can be used in a product label conversion.
Source: DARP